Wade Wiles was moving out of the venue’s front door on Sunday night at the Anime NYC load in (vendors apparently had to wait nearly 10 hour to merchandise into the building). To do this they must transport all their equipment to an elevator and then load it into the Javitz Center front entrance. Wade was nearly done after this process took 2.5 hours. Wade was returning to the building when he fell forward, hitting his head on the escalator.
The incident reports that wade had tripped during transporting goods and the fall caused blunt force trauma to the head. After he fell unconscious, paramedics were seen to administer chest compressions. Later, it was inferred that they also used a defibrillator. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he is currently in ICU since Sunday, 11/20/2023.
Dubbed as the “Ultimate Anime Con Man” Wade Wiles had a GoFundMe created on his behalf for his medical bills, due to the fact that he does not have medical insurance.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/medical-help-for-the-ultimate-anime-con-man
We have been hearing updates from Wade’s Sister and his boss. They will slowly be trying to wake him up soon, but the road to recovery will be a long and slow process. I’m told he has no insurance and he will need money to support himself in the future while he recovers. Not only is he a US navy veteran, but Wade is an incredibly hard-working guy. While not working one of the 46 shows a year that he does, he works door dash, uber eats, and other delivery services to survive. So I’m asking the anime community to come together and help out one of your own. Wade’s ICU visit will be incredibly expensive, far more than the $50,000 I hope to raise for him, but it’s a start. Let’s see what we can do for the Ultimate (Anime) Con(vention) Man.
The GoFundMe is raising $50,000 and currently at $2,815 and rising. We hope that the Anime ConVention Man gets well, and receives the medical care and funding he needs.
